"Water Resources Development Act of 2026: Stakeholder Priorities"
House Public Works and Transportation Subcommittee on Water Resources
2025-12-17
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Source: Congress.gov
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The Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment will come to order. I ask unanimous consent that the chairman be authorized to declare a recess at any time during today's hearing. Without objection, so ordered. I also ask unanimous consent that members not on the subcommittee be permitted to sit with the subcommittee at today's hearing and ask questions. Without objection, so ordered. As a reminder, if members wish to insert a document into the record, please also email it to documentsti at mail.house.gov. I now recognize myself for the purpose of an opening statement for five minutes. Today's hearing is the first of a series that this subcommittee will hold before drafting a Water Resource Development Act, Water for 2026. To kick off the Water 2026 process, today we have the opportunity to hear from stakeholders from across the nation about the importance of Army Corps Civil Works programs and maintaining a consistent two-year water schedule. Water is one of the most important pieces of legislation that we work to draft and pass here at the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and we are proud to do so regularly. Every two years since 2014, Congress has passed a bipartisan consensus water bill into law, helping communities across this country. I look forward to working once again with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue this important tradition. Water is a critical vehicle to meet the water resources needs in the communities nationwide. Reliable water navigation systems allow for the safe and efficient shipping of cargo that is fueling our economy.
Levees protect homes and businesses from flooding. Dams and reservoirs like Lake Lanier in Georgia, where I grew up visiting with my family, also provide flood control for communities, electricity, and opportunities for recreation. Water 2024 included several important provisions for water needs in the state of Georgia and the country as a whole. Specifically, Water 2024 authorized a feasibility study for Tybee Island ecosystem restoration and storm damage risk reduction and modified the feasibility studies for Savannah Harbor and new Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam, updating these prioritizations to effectively and efficiently meet changing needs. In Georgia, 2025 was the busiest year on record for the Port of Savannah and the Port of Brunswick became America's number one port for automobiles. A consistent two-year water process is essential in helping our ports keep up with growing demand and grow our nation's economy. An important part of the water process is the partnership between the federal government and non-federal partners and stakeholders who come together to solve local water resources needs.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding today's hearing. Through biennial enactment of Water Resources Development Acts, this committee is addressing the water-related needs of our states and local communities. Wörther's are a shining example of how Congress can efficiently and effectively meet the bipartisan needs of our communities when we decide it is better to work together than apart. Again, I look forward to continuing my partnership with you, with Chairman Graves and with ranking member Larson to get this done. Mr. Chairman, each of our communities experience unique water resource challenges. We seek to address these challenges through predictable enactment of worders, providing the Corps with the tools necessary to address community needs. As stressors or local priorities change over time, this committee has stayed vigilant to ensure that the Corps has the authority and resources necessary to address local needs. The history, of course, bears this out. The Corps' civil works responsibility was initially focused primarily on navigation, developing the coastal and inland harbors necessary for the efficient movement of goods to our young nation. That responsibility was later expanded to incorporate large-scale flood control, in part due to widespread flooding along the Mississippi River that devastated communities and livelihoods. More recently, as more communities realize the economic, environmental, and public health benefits from restoring their environment,
Congress expanded the Corps' responsibility to include watershed and ecosystem restoration, the benefits that can be seen in the Florida Everglades, coastal Louisiana, and in the Great Lakes. In fact, just last week, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of enactment of the comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan through WERDA 2000. This decade-long partnership between the Corps, the state, and other non-federal partners show how large-scale environmental restoration projects can happen. tangible dramatic and lasting benefit to our communities our economies our human and environmental health and our quality of life lastly in word of 2024 the congress gave the core new direction to work with communities to support local efforts to enhance water supply water conservation and drought resiliency needs. Mr. Chairman, as we develop a new water bill of 2026, we need to build on the successes of the last few water bills and the enhanced direction for the Corps to partner with communities of all types, large and small, urban, rural, and tribal. economically well off, and communities that struggle to make ends meet to address their local water resources challenges. It is my hope that Water 2026 will continue to ensure that the next generation of flood control, navigation, environmental restoration, and water supply and conservation projects
that studies are authorized and allowed to proceed, we must continue to promote community resilience to the challenges faced by extreme weather events and changes to climate conditions on the ground, whether there's too much water, including coastal and inland flooding events, or too little water, such as areas facing increased frequencies of drought conditions. And we must ensure that all communities are given the opportunity to work with the Corps to resolve their water resources challenges.
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